DJEMBE-L FAQ M7 Compilation Topic On "American Rhythmaculture"

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American Rhythmaculture

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< p> Sat, 11 Jan 1997 08:03:03 -0500 (EST)
From: Barkman488@aol.com
Subject: Re: "American RhythmCulture"

> What is "American RhythmaCulture"? Is it that, now that some white Americans are drawing from/inspired by African and Caribbean drumming, now it's All That! "American Rhythm-Culture"? Seems to me like something similar to this:
>
> Now there are two official categories: "Gospel Music" and "Black Gospel Music". Tell me if I'm wrong: wasn't "Gospel Music" invented by Dr. Thomas Dorsey, a black man? Shouldn't it be "Gospel Music" and "White Gospel Music"?
>
> Euro-Americans get into something, suddenly gotta give it their name; re-make it in their image, to coin a phrase. Don't get with the bandwagon, make a new wagon, call the original one broke, limited, stifling, intimidating, non-inclusive. Look who's talking!
>
> Food for thought? 'cause Barky wrote:
> >>These situations are the true Birthing of American Rhythmculture...>> >

Sule sounds as if he has a chip on his shoulder. Maybe I'm mistaken. I just took your book down off the shelf. "THE DRUMMERS PATH, MOVING THE SPIRIT WITH RITUAL AND TRADITIONAL DRUMMING"

I believe Arthur Hull coined the phrase American Rhythmaculture. And he is certainly entitled to that. Arthur is to drumming in America what Mamady is to preserving the rhythms of Guinea. "AMERICAN RHYTHMACULTURE: MOVING THE SPIRIT WITH WHATEVER MOVES YA."

I can play those rhythms from West Africa and the Caribbean, but they now have become my tools for spreading "American Rhythmaculture" The little things I have picked up from various teachers.

1) From Mamady, wearing anklets with bells on them. I can always keep the down beat going, even if I'm not playing.

2) From John Amira, speaking the part like "Here comes the judge" and playing on each syllable. or "Just bought myself a nice red corvette", play your bell to that one.

3) From my South African friends here in my hometown ZULU Dancing. When I start kickin' look out! 4) From Arthur Hull "corniness" It works!

I have a lot more, but most of them come out impromtulike. America is based on borrowed culture. Should we just lay down?

The last gig I did, someone was playing a Gfilte Fish Jar filled with black eyed peas. I stopped everyone except this shaker. As he was soloing I thought to myself "Ah, American Rhythmaculture at its best"

Sat, 11 Jan 1997 08:16:33 -0500 (EST)
From: MGallichio@aol.com
Subject: Re: "American RhythmaCulture"

Rhythm comes to earth from GOD and will be played by all of GOD'S children. No matter what color hay may be. Let's keep it that way!

Sat, 11 Jan 1997 08:41:52 -0500 (EST)
From: Barkman488@aol.com
Subject: Re: "American RhythmaCulture"

>
> Rhythm comes to earth from GOD and will be played by all of
> GOD'S children. No matter what color they may be. Let's keep it
> that way!
> peace
What do you think GOD"S favorite rhythms are?

Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 09:40:56 -0800
From: narad@nudibranch.asd.sgi.com (Chuck Narad)
Subject: Re: "American RhythmaCulture"

> What do you think GOD"S favorite rhythms are?
> Barky >
lub-dub lub-dub lub-dub lub-dub....oh, nevermind, that was my heart beating.

c/
-- --------------------------------------------------------------------
| Chuck Narad -- diver/adventurer/engineer
| | "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today?
| Today is a gift. That's why we call it The Present."
| - Babatunde Olatunji
************************************

Sat, 11 Jan 1997 09:24:52 -0500 (EST)
From: LJMonson@aol.com
Subject: Re: "American RhythmaCulture"

> Euro-Americans get into something, suddenly gotta give it their name; re-make it in their image, to coin a phrase. >

Thanks for keeping us on the straight and narrow, Sule. I believe it's important to maintain respect for the traditions and sources that provides us with the culture we have today. Honoring the elders is an important part of any tradition, and in the case of European America borrowing the traditions of other cultures, that means honoring the ancestors of those cultures and keeping the respect for those cultures.

Sat, 11 Jan 1997 10:06:45 -0500
From: George Glenn grglenn@cris.com
Subject: Re: "American RhythmCulture"

I agree with Sule 100%. If one is going to be a part of something (in this case African drumming) one has to accept all that comes with it. Like so many who have rejected the spiritual and accepted the scientific, many European Americans tend to dissect things to see how they work and then try to put them back together again. Then when these things no longer breathe or have life, the parts that are deemed "useful" are reconnected, renamed and claimed as their own.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with European Americans playing the music. I am African American and I learned it the same way as the European Americans did, from the Africans and people who studied with Africans. The problem with me comes when the spirit of the music is discarded.

I have been playing this music for 13 years. Having played most of those years with Chuck Davis African American Dance Ensemble with my primary teacher being Khalid Saleem. From him I learned it is not how fast your hands are, how loudly you can play or how long you can play, but understanding and accepting the spirit of the music and culture.

It's not about trying to make this music our own but giving respect and honor to the source.

Sun, 12 Jan 1997 18:35:08 -0600
From: Happy Shel hapyshel@swbell.net
Subject: Re: "American RhythmaCulture"

LJMonson@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 97-01-10 22:36:34 EST, Sule writes
>
>> Euro-Americans get into something, suddenly gotta give it their name; re-make it in their image, to coin a phrase. >>

Sule: After spending a week with Baba, and hearing how he's been ripped off by his students, yet, he manages to forgive and move forward continuing to look for the good in everyone.........isn't it time to stop "beating the Euro-Americans thread" and laying blame on others? Isn't it time to look for the good? As Jesus said, "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone."

All cultures have been hurt. All humankind has been injured. All countries exploited. This is the time, as we move closer to the Millenium, in my opinion, to forgive all and move towards the light. For if we continue to bring up the hate, we will continue to have more hate. Negativity breeds negativity. Hate breeds hate. Love breeds love. Peace breeds peace. Unity breeds unity.

Sun, 12 Jan 1997 22:34:34 -0700 (MST)
From: drumpath@aztec.asu.edu (SULE GREGORY C. WILSON)
Subject: Re: "American RhythmaCulture"

HappyShel said:
>Sule: After spending a week with Baba, and hearing how he's been ripped off by his students, yet, he manages to forgive and move forward continuing to look for the good in everyone.........isn't it time to stop "beating the Euro-Americans thread" and laying blame on others? Isn't it time to look for the good.? As Jesus said, "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.">

Sule asks: Please, tell me, from what I wrote, where did "blame" come in? As I said to Michael Wall (our host in Hawaii) in a personal conversation re that same post, I work as a teacher, historian and minister, and keep an open heart and mind.

Mon, 13 Jan 1997 03:43:05 -0500 (EST)
From: BlairDrums@aol.com
Subject: Re: "American RhythmaCulture" for Sule

Your post provided me with another crucial reminder about our western propensity for wholesale cultural appropriation.

I'm a Euro-American and I didn't feel like you were "laying blame" on me or anyone else. I imagine that you must feel frustrated; it certainly is painful and frustrating for me to realize (yet again) that some fellow drum brothers and sisters can not yet hear the important ideas that you have continued to share.

I feel sad when the issues of cultural oppression that you have spoken so clearly about go whizzing past folks on djembe-l (this thread and the recent "Re: Yikes! Africa as country/nation" are examples).

Since I am in a position of relative power and privilege, I need reminders of when my words, actions and ideas may (unintentionally, perhaps) be taking power away from other people and cultures.

These issues of cultural appropriation and oppression are especially important for djembe-l, but sometimes are unappreciated. Pretending that these issues don't exist will not make them go away. Suggestions that you _get over it_ are clearly missing your point.

Increasing peace and understanding is not always a love-fest. Keep up your joyful noise! I, for one, will listen.

peace to you,
Blair Hornbuckle
Rochester, NY
**************************************

Mon, 13 Jan 1997 09:30:11 -0800
From: Doug Kane dundun@bbs.cruzio.com
Subject: Re:"American RhythmaCulture"

At 10:17 PM 1/12/97 -0500, Tom wrote:
>For what it is worth, it is my opinion that Sule made some much needed points. The list sometimes gets a bit carried away with the "dawning of a new age" rhetoric and little skepticism strikes me as extremely healthy. Any "peace and harmony" which is threatened by his post is a fragile one indeed. >Cordially,
>Tom Daddesio>

Well said, Tom. Too many people's solutions to problems are to pretend that the problem doesn't exist. Sule made some very valid points. Euro-Americans do tend to categorize the hell out of things. Look at the proliferation of rhythm catalogs and posted notations. Whether you think notation on the net is a good or bad thing, it is indisputably almost entirely practiced by Euro-Americans, mainly white males.

When Africans were made captives and brought to the Americas, they and their descendants integrated the music that was such a big part of their lives into their new lives as much as they could, given the repression that they lived under. The result of all these people from different African cultures thrown together under repressive conditions was the creation of some remarkable new forms of expression, with roots in the old traditions, but new nonetheless. These include Afro-cuban, Brazilian, Haitian, and other Caribbean music, as well as go-go, swing, and the Holiness Church, etc. None of these people were sitting around wondering how to catalog what was going on, they were too busy living the grooves. And a revolution of musical expression resulted.

IMHO, we are potentially in the midst of a similar revolution, as profound. Suddenly, despite centuries of self-repression, white people are slowly waking up and realizing that we have rhythm, too. However, we have to resist our urge to reinvent the wheel; it has been rolling for a long time. If a new drum culture is springing up around us, we have to let it happen. Each of us must be open, in a spirit of love and respect, to learning from our brothers and sisters, and from those who have come before us. But most importantly, follow your heart. I get off most on playing dunun for traditional Manding rhythms, not because I wish I had been born a black man from Guinea, but because that is what moves me. For someone else it might be Afro-Cuban music, or Congolese, Brazilian, Haitian, free-form drum circles, facilitated drum circles, pots and pans, or all of the above. The more we play from our hearts, the more we will come together, black, white, green, purple, polka-dotted, or whatever.

Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 11:54:58 -0200
From: Jairo Fonseca jairo@light.com.
Subject: Re: "American RhythmCulture"

Doug Kane wrote:
> IMHO, we are potentially in the midst of a similar revolution, as profound. Suddenly, despite centuries of self-repression, white people are slowly waking up and realizing that we have rhythm, too. However, we have to resist our urge to reinvent the wheel; it has been rolling for a long time. If a new drum culture is springing up around us, we have to let it happen. Each of us must be open, in a spirit of love and respect, to learning from our brothers and sisters, and from those who have come before us. >
> But most importantly, follow your heart.
>
[snip more of Doug's quote/MTF]

Hi everyone,
One question: why "American RhythmCulture" ? Why not just "RhythmCulture" ?

Nationalism is the root problem of the most big wars, America is already flooding the world with their own culture, in Brazil we dance American music, at birthday party we sing American music, we listen American music on radio, we celebrate Christmas with American music!

> But most importantly, follow your heart.
This is all we really need.
Love you all,

Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 13:27:56 -0800
From: "Aviva.Wesley.Vogel."aviva.wesley.vogel@valley.net
Subject: Re: "American RhythmCulture"

> What is "American RhythmCulture"? Is it that, now that some white Americans are drawing from/inspired by African and Caribbean drumming, now it's All That! "American Rhythm-Culture"? Seems to me like something similar to this:

>
> Now there are two official categories: "Gospel Music" and "Black Gospel Music". Tell me if I'm wrong: wasn't "Gospel Music" invented by Dr. Thomas Dorsey, a black man? Shouldn't it be "Gospel Music" and "White Gospel Music"?

>
> Euro-Americans get into something, suddenly gotta give it their name; re-make it in their image, to coin a phrase. Don't get with the bandwagon, make a new wagon, call the original one broke, limited, stifling, intimidating, non-inclusive. Look who's talking!

>
> Food for thought? 'cause Barky wrote:
> >>These situations are the true Birthing of American Rhythmculture...<<

>
> What about Go-Go? What about Swing? What about the Holiness Church?
> Now Sing!

>
> Play on your trashcans
> Skillet for a bell,
> Clapping on the Two-Four
> Sure feels swell
>
> "Rhythm for a Nation" means
> Do it as Church!
> Jam it for your loved ones
> When they feel hurt...
>
> More than just a Circle,
> An excuse to be One;
>
> Rhythm is a place to live your life
> (and the life around you):
>
> With Awe,
>
> Respect and
>
> Fun!
> > ............. > > Sule

Sule,
Your comments ring true, and I think it's great that you're keeping folks awake on these issues. Still, what would you call the American synthesis of musics based on African and African diasporic rhythms - whether interpreted and performed by black, white, brown, red or yellow Americans? Musical genre names are often problematic...after all, what IS jazz? The name's too broad. Yet it serves a purpose. I think a term must evolve for the developing American percussive genre, in all its flavors, and with credit given to the folkloric sources it draws most of its juice from. Have you also felt a similar need to come up with a name for the "rhythmculture" developing in the U.S.??? If so, what names have you considered? If not, why not? Thanks for entering into this discussion with me...Aviva, Motherdrum Studios

Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 13:34:15 -0500 (EST)
From: VILLAGEMC@aol.com
Subject: RhythmaCulture in America, the Arthurian view

Doug got it right !!!!
He either did as I asked the djembe-l to do, and read my first column in the 'Percussion Source" Magazine, or as an ex-student , (and possibly a next-teacher), of mine, some of my "epistemology" has rubbed off on him.

The title of each 'Percussion Source" column written by Arthur Hull will always be called "Rhythmaculture".( Not Rhythmculture) The Sub-title of the first Rhythmaculture column is " The birthing of American rhythmaculture". (the next Rhythmaculture column will be called Community Drum circles, The editors got the titles mixed up.)

I have an agreement with Drum Mag., Percussion Source, and other publications. The agreement is : I can put any articles I write on my web site, after the edition that my article is in, has been replaced by the next edition. The Olatunji interview was on my web site a month after it was printed in Drum Mag. Since Percussion Source only comes out twice a year, you won't find it on my web site until June.

I posted the Rhythmaculture teaser, (with Percussion Source's permission), to encourage you the Djembe-l members to go get a copy, read it, and use it as a possible thread for discussion.

But so far all I've seen, (except for Doug's thread), is a reaction to Sule's reaction to the Arthurian word "American RhythmaCulture", and not a reaction to the article itself. That of, course, lead us down the old Ethno-politic-cultural respect dialogue path, which I believe we should visit regularly, and thank and praise Sule and others for leading us there. But so far the djembe-l, RhythmaCulture's dialogue thread has been a narrow view, focusing on what's wrong. I wrote the column for our drumming community to consider what's possible.

So let me tease you with a little more of the article, (but not enough to get in trouble with my editor), in hopes that you acquire a copy of Percussion Source Mag, (Call 617 497 0356, to find out where to get it), and put a little more meat on this thread. I have also sent Sule a copy of the column in hopes he will comment on it.

""""" It is an "Arthurian" word that describes a culture that has integrated, ritual, dance, song, and music, into almost every aspect of its existence, its expression of its self, and its celebration of life. In a Rhythmaculture, rhythm and music serves specific purposes. There are songs, dances, for courting, weddings, births, funerals, harvesting, planting, and spiritual expression. Song and dance, and ritual permeates nearly all Rhythmacultures in their community gatherings.

"""A Rhythmaculture has always had drums or percussion in its history of expression. Rhythmaculture people have evolved their cultures out of an intimate relationship with the earth they live on, and the animals they live with. A lot of their rhythms, songs and dances have been modeled from the movements of the animals, the songs of the birds, and the community's dance for survival, such as the movements of harvesting, planting, and hunting, and making love. Asians, Pacific islanders, native Americans, and Africans are all people who come from rhythmacultures.""""""""" Drumming, dancing, singing, and the art of ritual, have been used through out the His/Herstory of Rhythmacultures all over the world, as a way of celebrating community and energizing the spirits of those communities,""""ETC ETC.

I then in the RhythmaCulture column, describe the birthing of some of the Caribbean RhythmaCultures >>>>>>>>

""" European, colonizers tried to suppress drumming amongst the African people they had stolen from Africa, and brought to the Caribbean as slaves. They thought that through the drums, the slaves were talking to each other, and their ancestral spirits. That was true. The colonists also were afraid that drumming amongst the slaves might unite them into a rebellious spirit. That was also true. The first slave revolt in the Caribbean was in Haiti. The children of Africa, successfully kicked the colonists off the island and created the first third world country in the Caribbean. The rhythm and dance that fueled that revolution was called Petro. Many colonists tried to ban drums and drumming ........ """""" ETC. ETC.

And last, in the Percussion Source's RhythmaCulture column I describe what I see as the first steps of the birthing of American RhythmaCulture. (or for Sule; birthing of RhythmaCulture in America) """""""" The birthing of Rhythmaculture in America is in its beginning stages. We are modeling master drummers and dancers who have come here from all over the globe. They give us knowledge, tools and the blue prints we need to create, what in two hundred years from now, will be a Rhythmaculture that will be distinctly American. It won't be just a mixture of African and European cultures. It will include Asians, Arabic, Polynesian, Mexican, and Native American as well. We Americans are now starting to rebuild and redevelop our relationship with the drum as a tool for unity, and expression.""""""ETC ETC.

From my point of view, this whole process that we, (djembe-l), are going through right now is an important part of the birthing of American RhythmaCulture. That includes Sule's vigilance in defense of the conscious or ignorant cultural appropriation, disrespect or abuse of any RhythmaCulture, be it African, European, Asian, Arabic, Polynesian, Mexican, Native American, or Arthurian. (Oops, just joking.) We are just now taking baby steps toward something that a lot of us Americans, through oppression or self-repression, lost along the way, and what is rightly ours as human animals needing to express our selves and to re-connect ourselves to each other, our spirit, and our Earth, through rhythm dance and song. With deep respect, we model those "people of source" who have come to the U.S. to teach us about their RhythmaCulture. I sincerely hope that we can do this in such a way that we can discover the universal essences of RhythmaCulture, in order to create our own, without appropriating theirs. Babatunde Olatunji didn't come to the U.S. to teach us how to become Africans.

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DJEMBE-L FAQ M7Compilation Topic On "American Rhythmaculture" (Last edited 06/01/08)